


Crashing

by shipatfirstsight



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Family Dinners, Awkward first meeting, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Rey and Ben can't catch a break, semi crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:03:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5732062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipatfirstsight/pseuds/shipatfirstsight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey and Ben seem to have a bad habit of embarrassing themselves in front of each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Great Condom Debacle

Admittedly, Rey was in a rush. She wasn’t exactly paying attention to who was on the path in front of her because all her finals were on the _same freaking day_ and all she wanted was a damn cup of coffee to make it through the day because she’d been up until three in the morning after her computer crashed unexpectedly and she hadn’t saved her damn term paper—and that was when she crashed into some tall immovable force of a man.

She started to drop, of course, and wasn’t that just the topper on an already sucky day? The man grabbed for her, though, saving her before she completely hit the ground, gripping her elbow, but that only made her bag on her other arm slip down and spill its contents over the ground. There was the usual, her books, pens, and notebooks—she thanked whoever was looking out for her that her laptop was safe on her desk in her dorm room. Rey looked to the cause of all her problems—for the moment—to find a mess of black hair shrouding all his other features. Which made sense because he wasn’t looking at her; his eyes were focused on her bag, still, gaze trained and unmoving.

She followed his line of sight, wondering what in the hell could be so engrossing. That was when she saw the objects that had come out of her bag first. Condoms. Packages and packages of them spilled across the ground for all to see. She was going to kill Poe and Finn when she saw them again—they were absolutely, one hundred percent responsible for this freaking disaster of a situation after all their talk of her ‘needing to get out there and get laid.’

She saw people pointing and laughing and all she wanted to do was crawl back into her bed at home and never leave it. Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment. Maybe wait for her grandpa Obi Wan to come and pick her up. He’d show up eventually, right? She could hide out in her room until then.

The man still hadn’t let go of her elbow and he was still gaping down at the ground. Rey cleared her throat, trying to work up the nerve to pick up her belongings and leave with some kind of dignity, when he finally looked at her. She was struck by his intense stare—he looked caught between a question and a laugh. It fueled her infuriation at the whole situation because _if he hadn’t run into her she wouldn’t be in this mess_.

“Planning on using all of those?” he asked with a raised eyebrow before she could let him feel the brunt of her ire.

“Asshole,” she spat between her teeth, pushing him off of her. She bent down, shoving everything back into her bag—even those stupid _fucking_ condoms—and did her best to flounce away.

Rey was pretty sure she heard the sound of laughter behind her, but she was not about to give him the satisfaction of turning back around. She stormed to her favorite coffee shop—Maz’s Coffee Castle—and she thanked whatever cruel force was looking out for her that Maz already had Rey’s usual ready for her.

“I knew you would need it,” Maz said when she pushed the travel cup into Rey’s hand.

Rey tried to smile, waving and bidding Maz goodbye, but she was still fuming. Maybe she should kill all three of them—Poe, Finn, and the mystery asshole who she had to run into because the universe was conspiring against her today. She checked her phone for the time; she would barely make it to her oral presentation and that was if she had no other mishaps along the way. She made it by some miracle _thank you fickle force_ , she said as she stepped into the classroom one minute before her scheduled appointment.

“I’m sorry, Professor Organa,” she started as she burst into the room, focusing on setting up herself, “You would not believe the day I’ve been having—“

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t you.”

Her head shot around, focusing on the person next to her favorite professor ever only to find an all too familiar head covered in dark hair, his dark gaze fixed on hers, a smile in his eyes. She was definitely going to have to move. Maybe to a new universe far away from here.

“Oh, you two know each other?” her professor asked.

“Not really,” Rey started, but the man nodded his head. She shot a glare at him, and she was pretty sure he _winked_ at her in response.

“Yeah, mom, we actually met this morning,” he paused, putting one hand on his hip and pointing at her with the other.

 _Mom?_ Oh she was definitely going to have to move. Maybe she could steal a spaceship. She could fly jets; it couldn’t be that different, right?

“We, um, actually met at the health services fair,” he paused and her eyes widened in alarm, and she started to say _No!_ willing to offer him just about anything if he never said what she was pretty sure he was about to say. “You know, the one for sexual health.”

The mysterious force that seemed to hate her should really just take pity on her and do her in.

Professor Organa didn’t pause a beat, though, smiling fondly at her _son_. Rey wasn’t sure she could say that her professor was her favorite anymore. She just had to finish this class, and then she never had to take a class with her again; she’d never have to even risk seeing Professor Organa’s son ever again. Maybe she should transfer to a different university. That would clearly be the best solution, right? Or she could run from the room, drop out, change her name to something innocuous, and hide in the wilderness for twenty years.

Somehow—probably the power of Maz’s coffee—she was able to make it through her presentation and subsequent question answer section even tough it turned out Professor Organa’s son—Ben Skywalker-Organa-Solo, as he introduced himself—was her teaching aide and was helping his mother administer these presentations. He did keep looking at Rey, though, and when his mother wasn’t paying attention, Rey glared at him, willing her cheeks to stop reddening every time she noticed his gaze.

“You did good, Rey,” Professor Organa said when it was over, gathering her things to leave, “I feel confident in saying that you’re going to pass this class with flying colors. Make sure you turn in your paper by tomorrow night.” She smiled at Rey; Rey felt herself calming, the stress from having to do the presentation leaving her. Then her professor turned to her son. “You’re coming home for dinner, right? Your grandmother misses you.”

“Yes, mom,” he said with a sigh—Rey had to stop herself from laughing because he sounded exactly like a teenager in that moment.

She planed her escape while the mother and son finished their conversation. When she moved to the door, though, she found her way blocked by her worst enemy. “Move,” she hissed.

“Can’t we talk about earlier?” he asked, all innocence.

“No,” she was almost certain she could punch his pretty face and make a quick getaway before he recovered from it. “I never want to talk about it again.”

“Still think I’m an asshole?” he continued, seemingly unaware of her growing anger.

“That does tend to happen when a person is accosted by a random man who then laughs at them like an _asshole_!”

“It was just unexpected. It’s not every day you run into a girl who has quite so many condoms.”

She sputtered, trying to work through all of this. “You’re teasing me,” she said suddenly, perfect clarity falling over her.

“Yeah…” Ben responded, apparently confused.

Rey sucked in a breath. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.”

“Apparently you’re planning on a long night,” he said, but now she recognized the teasing tone to his voice.

She smacked his arm playfully. “Shut up.”

His face grew serious. “Come to dinner with me?”

“What?” she asked, taken aback.

He rucked a hand through his hair. “I love my family, but they’re sort of stuck on teasing me for a phase I went through and they might be less annoying if I bring a girl home with me.”

This was crazy, but maybe she should take Finn and Poe’s advice. “Alright, but you owe me,” she smiled up at him.

The exchanged phone numbers and plans to meet at Maz’s before he asked, “And what will I owe you?"

“A long night,” she said with a wink before she could lose her courage, and then she flounced out of the room.


	2. Family Dinners or How Ben Got His Comeuppance From the Mysterious Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems only fair that Rey should get to see Ben get embarrassed after the great condom debacle (as she's decided to call it). His family is happy to oblige.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this isn't as funny as the first chapter? Sorry if you were here for the humor. Any way, I'm extending this into a multi-chaptered fic chronicling all of Rey and Ben's awkwardness pre-relationship and then during relationship.

Admittedly, Rey didn’t know what to expect. She barely knew Ben, and she definitely didn’t know if this counted as a date. He seemed nice, when he wasn’t actively teasing her, and he _was_ the son of one of the most brilliant professor’s Rey had ever had the pleasure of taking a class from, so that had to say something about him. Right?

So while she absolutely didn’t know what she had been expecting, Rey was pretty sure that the last thing she expected to find was Ben waiting for her at Maz’s with a flower in hand. A _sunflower_ of all things—it seemed everyone in her life was set on making Rey of sunshine jokes, never mind that sunflowers were actually her favorite flower. “Don’t tell me, it reminded you of me?” she asked with a smile as she accepted it.

Ben had the good sense to look bashful, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Guess I’m not the first?” his hand stretched back toward the flower as he voiced his question, looking like he wanted to snatch it back from her.

She tucked the flower into her purse in response; she wasn’t about to let him take it from her. “Well, you’re the first to actually get me a sunflower and not just tell me that sunflowers remind them of me, so I suppose I can forgive you.”

“My parents live just off campus, do you mind if we walk?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject; Rey got a cold kind of pleasure in seeing him embarrassed and flustered instead of her.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” she responded. He started walking, and they fell into step together. “So, what kind of embarrassing stories can I expect?”

“Oh, you know, the usual,” he said evasively, scratching the back of his neck.

She decided to give up—for now—but even if his family _didn’t_ embarrass him, she was going to find out what he was so worried about one way or the other. Rey really wasn’t happy that he had an embarrassing story over her and she was at a disadvantage. If only she could read his mind…but alas, she would have to find some other way to get the information from him. Or maybe the fickle force would take pity on her and let his family reveal all the embarrassing details.

“We’re here,” his voice suddenly came through her thoughts. They walked up the driveway and he pushed open the door; he had his body in front of hers, though, almost as though he was trying to shield her from sight.

A scruffy looking man came into view, saw her and smiled widely. “Lando, look who brought home a girl! Lando!” he yelled as he ran from the room.

Ben sighed beside her. “And so it begins.”

“Who was that?” she said, laughing.

“My father. He thinks he’s funny.” Ben shoved his hands in his pocket as he spoke. “He’ll probably be like that all night.”

“Don’t bring girls home that often?” Rey asked, cheekily, but she felt a small secret pleasure at knowing he didn’t run into girls, act like an asshole to them, and then bring them home with any regularity.

“No,” he answered honestly, and then smiled at her suddenly. “But I figured fair trade for embarrassing _you_ earlier.”

Maybe _he_ was a mind reader. “Well, fair is fair after all.”

A worried pucker scrunched his brow, comically, and she had to stop herself from laughing as he asked, “Are you still mad about it?”

She shook her head. “At you? No. Well, I am still embarrassed because half of the student body saw it. At my roommates for putting them in my bag? Eternally.”

“So they weren’t—“ he cut off, looking as the scruffy man came back into the room, interrupting whatever Ben had been about to say, a whole troop of people tramping in behind him. Rey said hello to Professor Organa upon seeing her.

“Call me Leia, Rey,” she said, and Rey nodded.

Ben had a huge family. For eighteen years, it had been Rey and her grandpa Obi Wan, the two of them against the world. Ben had a father and mother, grandparents, uncles—her mother’s brother and family friends. She envied him.

They moved to the dinning room for dinner. They sat down, making polite conversation for a while, and then his father, Han, spoke up. “So, your mother said you two met at a sexual health fair?”

Ben choked on his water and Rey’s cheeks heated in acute, sudden embarrassment. Maybe she was still angry with him—she’s forgotten he’d told his mother that, and apparently so had he. “Sexual health is important in any relationship, Dad,” Ben said before she could say anything, apparently recovering quickly from the initial shock.

She glared at him. “I think what your son means to say is that he decided to run into me and instead of apologizing, he decided to tease me.”

His grandfather Anakin laughed at the other end of the table and, though he tried to speak softly, Rey heard him say, “I think he learned how to flirt from me, Padmé.”

 _Flirting?_ She hadn’t considered that he might be doing _that_. Teasing, sure, but flirting? Running into her was one thing; inviting her to a family dinner to make up for running into her and laughing at her and to escape his families teasing followed and that all made sense to her. But flirting? That meant he might like her… it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant idea—he was attractive and when he wasn’t annoying her, he made her happy. Maybe the force that she thought hated her liked her after all. But she’d only spent about an hour in his company. Rey wasn’t sure she was quite ready for _flirting_ yet.

Then again, maybe she was. And had she been flirting back? She was entirely out of her element in this situation. Her parting words to him _a long night_ came back to her with sudden clarity. Oh, she’d been flirting alright. But him? He’d just been awkward…but maybe he wasn’t sure what he was doing either.

“Did he tell you to call him Ben or Kylo Ren?” his one uncle—Luke, she thought—asked suddenly.

Ben groaned, throwing his head back. “I haven’t asked anyone to call me that in _years_ Uncle Luke.”

“Kylo Ren?” she asked, incredulous. She'd heard that before, somewhere. She just couldn't quite remember where.

“Oh yeah, he went around for years telling everyone to call him Kylo Ren. Ended up leaving home and everything to join some band,” Luke continued, ignoring Ben’s glare.

“A band? Would I have heard of them?” she directed her question at Ben, but he seemed completely engrossed by his food.

“They called themselves the _Knights of Ren_ ,” Lando supplied helpfully.

“You were in the Knights of Ren?” she asked, laughing. That band had been a one hit wonder—they’d broken up, fading back into oblivion. “You were the drummer,” she exclaimed, suddenly remembering. This was better than she had ever hoped for really.

“I was the only good part about that band and they didn’t deserve me,” he answered sullenly. It only made her laugh harder.

“They were _so_ bad.”

“That’s not _my_ fault.”

“Should’ve picked better people to run away from home with, though.”

“I didn’t know they were going to be so horrible.”

“Who joins a band without knowing how the people are going to play?”

“I didn’t think anyone would join a band when they couldn’t play an instrument,” Ben said with an air of finality. Rey stuck her tongue out at him, but she decided to otherwise drop the conversation, turning back to his family.

They finished dinner as they had started it, making small talk. Rey noticed, out of the corner of her eyes, that his family was looking back and forth between the two of them.

After dinner was over, Han enlisted Ben to help him clean the dishes. “And I can show you baby pictures of our Ben,” Padmé said as father and son left the room, the door between the kitchen and dining room shutting between them.

Rey was fairly certain she heard Ben shout, “No!” and then slam into the door that Lando, Luke, and Anakin were holding closed.

Later, a picture of a bare-bottomed baby Ben tucked into her purse, a purple welt growing on his head as he walked her home, she thought that maybe the mysterious force was looking out for her after all.

“Sorry about that,” he said when she stopped at her apartment. He rubbed his neck again—apparently he did it when he was anxious. “I’ll just—I’ll go,” he finished lamely, turning to walk away.

“Ben,” she called out to him, and he stopped, turning back to her, an eyebrow raised in question. “You still owe me you know.”

“Oh?” There was a hopeful tone to his voice, though, his earlier dejection completely forgotten.

“I believe I was promised a long night.”

“I thought you were joking.” He walked closer to her as he said it, though.

She smiled up at him. “I wouldn’t joke about my _sexual health_.”

Horror crossed his face. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Rey laughed. “No, you shouldn’t have. At least, not to your parents and grandparents.”

Ben rubbed his neck again. “It just came out.”

“How about we go on a real date?” she asked suddenly, emboldened by…him and his presence. She felt a connection to him, for whatever reason, and maybe it was just because it seem like the universe sort of wanted them to meet, but she wanted to get to know him better. 

“What?” he answered seemingly shocked by her question.

“You know. You. Me. Alone. Dinner?” Rey prodded.

“I’m familiar with the concept,” he replied, “I just—“

“Do you not want to go on a date with me?” she asked, cutting him off.

“No! I mean, I do, I just didn’t think after my family—“

“It’ll take a lot more than a bad band to scare me away,” she promised with a smile. “I think I might like you.”

Ben smiled in return, slowly. “I can meet you here at 7 tomorrow, and we can go for dinner, if you want.”

“It’s a date,” she said and then bid him goodbye.

After she killed Poe and Finn for the great condom debacle, she was going to have to thank them for being the horrible tools that led her to finally step out of her shell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know where to end this, I'm so sorry. I'm on tumblr at shipatfirstsight


	3. Of Dates and Allergic Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That time Ben thought he would be super nice and bring homemade cookies (made by Han, not him) to the girl he likes but then he ended up almost killing her. Or: Rey should probably tell more people that she’s horribly allergic to peanuts. Or: the time both Ben and Rey were embarrassed.

Admittedly, this had been a problem in the past and she _knew_ that _dammit_. It wasn’t like it was something new; she’d been dealing with it her _whole entire life_ and she knew the dangers of not being careful. She’d learned a long time ago to carefully consider every bit of food she took in—it was just that normally she was paying attention. Ben distracted her in ways she hadn’t thought to expect. She was going to have to figure out how to balance paying attention to him—getting distracted by him—and, well, not dying.

Their date actually went well—for them. They ended up just going to Maz’s and ordering sandwiches and it was great and casual. Comfortable. And, okay, so there _had_ been the occasional awkward silence, but it wasn’t _uncomfortable_ silence. More like they were taking each other in. Rey wasn’t usually super romantic, but she liked the way he looked at her like she was the only person in the room; like he could look at her forever and never get bored.

It was shocking, to say the least, that they’d managed to make it any length of time without something embarrassing happening or being said, given their last two encounters. Rey had thought—naively, she realized later, so, _so_ naively—that they were in the clear. The awkward had left, the mysterious force doing what it had to do to get them together and deciding that they had embarrassed themselves enough for a lifetime.

It was _after_ dinner that things had gone downhill. _The universe would, of course,_ she muttered to herself, _give me a false sense of security and strike when I least expected it._

Ben had presented her with homemade chocolate chip cookies from his backpack as they left Maz’s. “I didn’t make them,” he’d said quickly, seeing, perhaps, the teasing glint to her eyes as she got ready to, well, tease him about making her cookies. “My dad did.”

She’d laughed at his defensiveness. “I think you protest too much,” she’d said, finding the opportunity to tease. She’d reached into the bag, pulling out a cookie and popping it into her mouth. He’d mumbled something as she started to chew, and she hadn’t quite been able to make it out; he ran his hands through his hair, and the motion of his hairs tugged up his black t-shirt to momentarily reveal his abs. She’d been distracted, and who could blame her really?

It was only _after_ she’d swallowed that she’d tasted the peanut butter in her mouth. _Shit_ , had gone through her mind about ten thousand times; she was pretty sure her eyes widened in acute horror. Ben looked at her, concern evident from his eyes to his hands slowly stretching out to her. She felt like she couldn’t _breathe_. She managed to tell Ben what was happening; he looked utterly panic stricken, apologizing over and over again, looking like he wasn’t quite sure what to do and she didn’t have time for his panic.

“Hospital. Hurry,” she choked out, taking charge. He wasted no time after that; he bent, swiping an arm under her knees and lifting her up effortlessly. He walked faster than she would have thought possible to his car, somehow opening the door and maneuvering her inside. Then he drove faster than was strictly legal, but she wasn’t going to complain. Luckily, the hospital was only a two-minute drive away—but every second counted when she could feel her throat closing in on her and her face swelling and growing itchy.

Ben carried her into the hospital without question. The staff admitted her quickly and treated her reaction but she knew she’d be red and itchy for a while at least. She was embarrassed to go back out into the waiting room and try to explain to Ben what exactly had happened.

He was waiting for her, a pensive look on his face. He stood up when he saw her, walking slowly toward her till they met in the middle.

“Bet that’s the first time you almost killed someone on a date,” she tried to make a joke out of it.

He crossed his arms, glaring down at her. “That’s not funny, Rey. You really could have died and it would have been my fault.”

Rey stepped closer to him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. “Hey, don’t think like that, okay? It was my fault. I don’t blame you. I’m the one who ate the fucking cookie. I should probably tell people that when I introduce myself. Rey Kenobi—allergic to peanuts,” finished, she smiled up at him, trying to get him to feel better about the situation.

Ben didn’t smile back; if anything his mood seemed to sour further. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“It’s not your fault,” she tried to reassure him.

“I should have asked,” he bit out.

“Well, if anything it’ll make a great story to tell our kids,” she said, without thinking. _Oh god_ , she thought, _did I really just say that out loud? I did. Now I wish the peanut butter had done me in. This is it. There’s no recovering from this._ Her thoughts ran once more with having to explain to her grandfather just why she had dropped out of college when a laugh pierced through her embarrassment.

It was Ben, of course; his earlier anger forgotten, he cracked a smile at her. “Now, how are we going to have kids when you have all those condoms?”

It was her turn to laugh, this time in relief. He drove her back to her apartment—she noticed him looking over frequently as though he was checking to make sure she was still okay. “I’m not going to have another reaction you know,” she said finally.

He jumped a little; he smiled tentatively, shrugging his shoulders. “That was really scary Rey,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered in reply.

He pulled into a parking spot and turned to look at her. “I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“Are we really going to argue over who’s more sorry that this happened? My stupid body ruined a really great date, so I win anyway.”

“A great date?” he asked.

Rey felt her cheeks heat. “Well, _I_ thought it was a great date. Right up until the almost dying thing.”

“I thought it was great too,” Ben said, reassuringly. “Right up until the part where I almost killed you.”

Ben’s hand reached up, his thumb tracing over her lips. She leaned into his touch; she unbuckled her seat belt so she could better stretch toward him. Softly, sweetly, she pressed her lips against his. She drew back quickly even though her mind was begging for _more_ to find him looking at her in surprise. She decided to kiss his look of shock away, pressing her lips against his once more.

He responded this time, hands curling around her sides, pulling her closer to him. Her tongue darted out, tracing the outline of his lips; he opened his mouth and allowed her entrance. Things were going great, all the while her brain shouting at her for _more more more_ and she decided to push into him more. It seemed like Ben wasn’t really expecting that, and okay, she pushed a little too hard in her excitement. She heard his head hit the door behind him and his yelp.

Rey pulled back, eyes widening as his look of pain registered. “Oh my god. I can’t believe—I’m so, _so_ sorry Ben,” she said, hands fluttering nervously.

“It’s okay,” he finally said after a minute. “It was more the shock than anything.” Then he leaned forward, kissing away her embarrassment.

“We should do this again sometime,” he said when she left his car minutes later.

“What, the almost dying and head trauma?” she asked, teasing.

He laughed and she was glad he didn’t seem to be beating himself up over her allergic reactions anymore. “Not that part. The nice part where no one almost died or got hurt.”

“I’d like that,” she said, because it was the truth. “Tomorrow, Maz’s for breakfast?” she asked because she was feeling bold and she wanted to see him again soon.

“Works for me,” he said quickly, and she would have laughed at his eagerness but all she felt was relief. “I’ll meet you there at ten?”

She nodded her consent, finally turning away to go up the stairs to her apartment. Of course, Finn and Poe were waiting for her and she hadn’t seen _them_ in days, but they look like two angry parents as she walks in the door all crossed arms and dour expressions.

“Why were you making out with some guy in our parking lot?” Finn asked as soon as she was through the door.

“Yeah, and why are you all red?” Poe questioned before she had a chance to respond to Finn. “Did you have an allergic reaction again?”

Rey looks back and forth between them, disbelieving. “I might ask you why there were condoms in my bag yesterday,” she says, calmly, but they must hear the storm brewing behind her words because their anger fades away.

“We were just having a bit of fun with you, sunshine,” Poe said.

“Yeah,” Finn agreed. “It was a joke. You know, we feel bad because we’re together and you spend all your time with us so you don’t have time for a love life.”

She smiled at them both. “Then you shouldn’t be angry if I’ve found a person I might want to use them with.”

With that, she made a quick exit to her room; she did, however, have a very clear picture that she would laugh at later—after the embarrassment and the flush to her cheeks faded—of the shock on both her friend’s faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of your support! I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this, so I should update soon. Anyway, I'm taking Adam Driver's SNL skit as canon that Kylo/Ben has an eight pack so that's there. Also, Anakin and Obi Wan do know each other in this universe but they had a massive falling out (which will awkwardly be explained later). Thanks again!


	4. Another family dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi Wan have some issues; Rey just wishes the universe didn't hate her.

Admittedly, Rey knew that her grandfather had things he didn’t like to talk about. He had a whole lifetime of experiences without her, and an ancient sadness behind his eyes. When she was little, she thought the two of them were destined to be alone together forever. Sometimes, he would talk about the friend he once had and he would look into the distance; he never mentioned a name, though.

She should have known something like this would happen. The universe _was_ conspiring against her after all, to live a life full of awkwardness.

Because, you know, after everything, her life hadn’t been filled with enough awkwardness. Like the time Finn and Poe had said they were leaving for the weekend so Ben had come over. And yeah, maybe she hadn’t closed her bedroom door but that was because they said they wouldn’t be coming home. Of course they did come home to hear the embarrassing sounds she was making, _so loudly_ , and they had to make fun of her for weeks about it.

She’d experienced enough awkwardness, thank you very much, and she was about ready for it all to stop.

She’d been spending so much time with Ben’s family, though, and they’d been dating for six months. She hadn’t been home as much to see her grandpa; he said he understood when they talked, but she _wanted_ him to be a part of her life. So when Ben invited Rey to a family dinner, she asked if she could invite her grandpa so they could meet. She’d never seen him smile bigger.

“I thought you’d never ask,” he’d said.

“You’re a part of my life know,” she’d replied. “I want you to be in every part of it.”

Rey had called her grandpa right then to invite him. He’d agreed readily. “I have to know who’s taken my Rey’s heart,” he’d said, and his accent soothed her and made her wish for home.

She’d waited with baited breath for him to show up at Han and Leia’s house. She couldn’t stop fiddling with her hands; Ben had finally grabbed one of them in his and rubbed it soothingly. She’d looked at him with gratitude and a small smile. “I just want him to like you,” she whispered so his family wouldn’t hear and tease him.

“I’m very like-able,” he returned, trying to put her at ease. She’s hit his shoulder lightly, laughing in a nervous sort of way. Ben curled an arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him. “It’s going to be fine,” he promised.

When her grandpa got there, the first thing he said when he saw Ben, features hardened, was, “So you’re the young man who poisoned my granddaughter.”

“Grandpa,” Rey exclaimed in exasperation. Ben looked pale, his hand frozen in the air where he had been reaching for a handshake. “It wasn’t on purpose and you know it.”

Obi Wan had turned his eyes toward her, his features softening into a smile, a teasing glimmer in his eyes. “I know, sunshine, but it’s so much fun to tease.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but moved to hug him anyway. Ben still looked shell-shocked, so she grabbed his hand in hers. “Grandpa, this is my boyfriend. Ben, this is my grandpa—“

“Obi Wan,” Anakin’s voice rang out suddenly. “What the hell are you doing in my house?”

Her grandpa’s face hardened once more into real anger—and if she wasn’t mistaken the pain she normally saw had magnified ten fold. She turned to Anakin, and he looked just as angry and hurt. Ben too was looking back and forth between their grandfathers. She mouthed, _what’s going on_ to him, but he just shrugged his shoulders as the two men glared at each other.

“Grandpa?” she asked hesitantly.

He tore his gaze from Anakin to look down at her. “I think I should be leaving sunshine.”

“Oh yes, do,” Anakin spat out. “That’s what you’re best at, isn’t it?”

“Anakin, what’s going on—Obi Wan?” Padmé asked, pain in _her_ features. “We haven’t seen you in _fifty_ years.”

“What the hell is going on?” Ben asked, but the grandparent’s ignored him. Rey knew this was it--it couldn't get worse than the obvious animosity between their two grandparent's. If the glares being shot back and forth were any indication, this was not going to be a pleasant evening. Maybe the universe would take pity on her and the ground would swallow her up--if it was feeling extra generous it could include Ben as well. She wasn't sure she wanted to get in the middle of whatever the hell _this was_.  

The tension in the air was palpable. Luke, Leia, and Han all filed into the room, looking back and forth between the glaring grandparents.

“You left me to die,” Anakin finally said, one hand rubbing the elbow of his other arm—where his prosthetic started. Padmé stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You betrayed us!” Obi Wan yelled; it was the angriest Rey had ever heard him and she still didn’t know what in the hell to _do_ except try to reason with the universe that she didn't deserve this.

“My wife was in danger. I had to do something to get her home!” Anakin yelled in return. The two men looked ready to come to blows and all Rey or Ben could do was stand there. 

“Everybody, calm down. This was supposed to be a nice dinner,” Luke finally said, gesturing to the dining room.

They all moved to the dining room, taking seats. Rey sat next to Ben, ignoring her grandfather’s glares in Anakin’s direction.

“Does anyone want to tell us what this is all about?” Leia asked suddenly. Obi Wan and Anakin looked down at their plates, evidently unwilling to share. They all sat in silence for what seemed like forever, everyone quietly eating their food, sending glances between the two grandfathers. Every time Ben tried to lean closer to Rey, though, Obi Wan would look up and glare.

"Rey, I would prefer if you didn't date the grandson of my enemy," Obi Wan said suddenly, shooting one glare at Anakin and another at Ben. 

"Grandpa," she started, "I'm not going to stop dating him." And she grabbed Ben's hand to prove it. Obi Wan glared some more.  

Padmé sighed in defeat at that. “This is ridiculous. We all used to be friends. Ben, you knew your grandfather was in the military. They were in together, and I was as well. They were soldiers and I was a spy. Anakin and I got married in secret. We had to keep it from everyone due to the nature of our assignments. I was captured and Anakin,” she paused looking at her husband, “he made a deal he shouldn’t have to get me free.”

“I lost my arm in the process,” Anakin put in, glaring in Obi Wan’s direction.

“It’s not my fault Count Dooku took advantage of your deal with Palpatine,” Obi Wan returned, crossing his arms.

“He wouldn’t have known I was there if _you_ hadn’t shown up.”

“You shouldn’t have been there in the first place! You put our mission, your life in danger.”

“You left me there to die and I did it for my wife!”

“You knew the rules when you joined—no attachments.”

“If I remember correctly, you had a secret family too.” Anakin cut a glance toward Rey at the same time Obi Wan did.

“We both made mistakes, didn’t we?” Obi Wan said, sadly.

“I’ve missed you, Obi Wan,” Padmé spoke again. “And so has Anakin.”

Obi Wan smiled at Padmé, still sad, but Rey thought that he looked less sad than she had ever seen him. “I’ve missed you both as well.” He sighed, looking at Anakin and then Ben and Rey, and then stretched out a hand. “Truce? For our grandchildren, of course.”

Anakin glared, seemingly unwilling to take his old friend’s hand. Padmé and Ben both glared at _him_ until, slowly, he stretched his arm out. “Truce.”

“So, Obi Wan, did Rey here tell you how she and my son met?” Han asked.

“No!” Ben and Rey shouted at the same time, to the pleasure of all the adults gathered, and to the confusion of Obi Wan.

“Oh, you have to hear this one, Obi Wan. Ben gets all his flirting skills from me,” Anakin put in.

“Well, it can’t be worse than you telling Padmé that she was beautiful for a politician,” Obi Wan said, a level of teasing entering his voice. 

“You didn’t,” Leia said, laughter bubbling in her throat.

“He did,” Padmé replied, laughing herself.

Soon, they were all laughing, everyone trading stories back and forth, all trying to one up each other.

“It’s never going to be easy, is it?” Ben asked her with a smile, leaning in to whisper in her ear.

She hugged closer to him. “It would be boring if it was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the end for now. Thanks for reading!


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